The New Edition star has long been targeted by fans and members of the media who felt sure he was the man behind Houston’s fall from grace, which many believe led to her demise in February.

But, speaking out in his first interview since her passing, Brown claims the singer was using illegal substances “way before” they started dating, and maintains he never tried narcotics before he wed the “I Will Always Love You” hitmaker in 1992.

In a candid chat with “Today” show host Matt Lauer, Brown, who has been sober for seven years, says, “I didn’t get high (on narcotics) before I met Whitney. I smoked weed, I drank the beer, but no, I wasn’t the one that got Whitney on drugs at all.”

And Brown can’t understand why critics want to pin her drug addiction issues on him: “It’s just… it’s just unexplainable how one could, you know, (say that I) got her addicted to drugs. I’m not the reason she’s gone.

“It makes me feel terrible. But you know, I know differently. I think if anyone ever knew us, if anybody ever spent time around us instead of time lookin’ through the bubble, they would know how we felt about each other. They would know how happy we were together.”

The “My Prerogative” star also addresses the coroner’s findings which named cocaine use as a contributory factor in her death from accidental drowning, revealing he had no idea his ex was still battling her drug demons.

He says, “I was hurt… because, you know, me being off of narcotics for the last seven years (sic), I felt that she was (too)… I didn’t know she was struggling with it still. But at the same time, you know, listen, it’s a hard fight. It’s a hard fight to maintain sobriety that way.”

Brown adds that Houston was the picture of good health when he saw her days before her death: “(She) had this glow about her that was just incredible. I’m saying to myself, ‘She must be doing really well,’ because she looked really well.”

The emergency service official who first heard Whitney Houston had been found unconscious in her Beverly Hills hotel suite was unable to get vital information to the woman who called for help because …

The emergency service official who first heard Whitney Houston had been found unconscious in her Beverly Hills hotel suite was unable to get vital information to the woman who called for help because she kept hanging up on hotel staff.

The 911 call from Beverly Hilton security on the day the soul star died has been released and it appears the emergency operator couldn’t get through to Houston’s room to relay CPR instructions directly to the singer’s assistant because she refused to stay on the phone long enough.

In the released audio, the dispatcher asks if he could be patched through to the woman in the room. The security official says, “No, because she keeps hanging up on us.”

The 911 call’s release comes on the same day as news confirming the Beverly Hills Police Department’s investigation into Houston’s death is now closed.

A statement reads: “Based on the findings of our investigation and our review of the coroner’s report, we have determined that this is not a criminal matter.”

Houston, 48, died of accidental drowning with cocaine use and heart disease contributing to her death.

The L.A. County coroner has already ruled that Houston’s passing was an accidental drowning with the “effects of atherosclerotic heart disease and cocaine use” as contributing factors as part of a preliminary report released last month.

The new document states investigators found a white, crystalline substance and spoon with residue on a bathroom counter and “a rolled-up piece of white paper, along with other miscellaneous items.”

Remnants of “a white, powdery substance” were also found on the base of a portable mirror, according to the autopsy report.

Investigators have concluded that Houston “possibly overdosed on a narcotic substance, prescription medications, over the counter medications and alcohol.”

Reports suggest she also had traces of marijuana in her system, as well as anxiety pills Xanax and allergy medication Benadryl.

Officials say there were no signs of foul play.

Houston died hours before she was set to attend her mentor and friend Clive Davis’ annual pre-Grammy Awards party at the hotel.

A lawyer for R&B star Ray J has slammed Bobby Brown’s sister for suggesting he is withholding information about Whitney Houston’s death.

The music icon was found submerged in the bathtub of her Los Angeles hotel suite on February 11, and on Thursday, her official cause of death was ruled as accidental drowning, in addition to the effects of heart disease and cocaine use.

The singer’s former sister-in-law, Leolah Brown, appeared on “Dr. Drew” on Thursday to discuss her version of events leading up to the superstar’s passing. In the interview, she accuses Ray J of helping Houston to indulge in her addictions, since he allegedly “knows somebody that sells drugs.”

Recounting the night of the legend’s death, Brown said, “I saw Ray J coming out of the hotel, hiding his head, being pushed into a car. Why? I looked and I said, ‘Why is he hiding his face? He’s always trying to show his face around Whitney. Why now? Why are you trying to hide Ray J?'”

However, a representative for Houston’s on/off boyfriend Ray J has lashed out at the claims, insisting her interview was “rife” with “false” allegations.

In a statement to E! News, the star’s attorney says, “Though Leolah Brown was nowhere near the Beverly Hilton hotel on the day Whitney Houston died, (TV network) CNN proceeded to broadcast an interview with Ms. Brown in which she falsely claimed that Ray J was at the hotel and contributed to Whitney Houston’s death.

“Even the most minimal inquiry with anyone actually in contact with Whitney would reveal that Leolah Brown had been out of contact with Whitney for more than a year and was nowhere near the scene on the day of her death.”

Whitney Houston died as a result of accidental drowning, in addition to the affects of heart disease and cocaine use, a coroner has ruled. The soul superstar’s body was found underwater in the bathtub …

Whitney Houston

AP Photo/Evan Agostini, File

Whitney Houston died as a result of accidental drowning, in addition to the affects of heart disease and cocaine use, a coroner has ruled.

The soul superstar’s body was found underwater in the bathtub of her Los Angeles hotel suite on February 11, hours before she was scheduled to attend mentor and friend Clive Davis’ annual pre-Grammys party.

A number of prescription pills were found in Houston’s room but an autopsy conducted the day after her passing proved inconclusive.

Houston’s cause of death was deferred pending toxicology results, and the Los Angeles County Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter subsequently requested all medical records from the singer’s doctors to determine what drugs she was taking at the time of her death.

The findings of the autopsy report were released on Thursday and stated that Houston’s death was accidental, although she also suffered from the “effects of atherosclerotic heart disease and cocaine use.”

Traces of prescription drugs and marijuana were also found in her system, but are not thought to have contributed to her demise.

The report adds, “No trauma or foul play is suspected.”

Houston, 48, had a long history of drug addiction and twice checked into rehab to control her substance abuse.

The L.A. County Coroner’s full results are not expected to be released until a later date.

A representative for singer Ray J has slammed reports suggesting the R&B star is in possession of an explicit sex tape featuring his on/off girlfriend Whitney Houston, insisting the footage does not …

Ray J, Whitney Houston

Ray J and Whitney Houston in 2008. (AP Photo/Isaac Brekken, file)

A representative for singer Ray J has slammed reports suggesting the R&B star is in possession of an explicit sex tape featuring his on/off girlfriend Whitney Houston, insisting the footage does not exist.

Sources have told editors at Star magazine the One Wish singer, who notoriously filmed a lovemaking session with his ex-girlfriend Kim Kardashian, documented his trysts with Houston on camera and now has a stash of X-rated photos and videos of the late soul legend in the bedroom.

The tabloid suggests a member of the Houston family has since reached out to Ray J, begging him to keep the material under wraps following the singer’s death last month.

A source says, “(The Houstons have) been in contact with Ray and told him they do not want any photos or videos painting her in a bad light to come out.”

But Ray J’s spokesperson has been quick to respond to the false story.

A statement issued to TMZ.com on Wednesday reads: “The despicable tabloid report released today claiming the existence of a sex tape between Ray J and Whitney Houston is not true… There is no sex tape.”

Kardashian shot to fame and immediately became a pin-up when her sex tape with Ray J leaked in 2007. The socialite-turned-reality TV star sued over the footage, which was shot in 2003, and reached a $5 million settlement with Vivid Entertainment bosses, who had obtained and released the video under the title “Kim Kardashian: Superstar.”

A representative for Whitney Houston’s daughter Bobbi Kristina has dismissed reports suggesting the teenager is engaged to her “adopted brother.” Family sources have been releasing statements to the …

Whitney Houston, Bobbi Kristina Brown

AP Photo/Dan Steinberg, file

A representative for Whitney Houston’s daughter Bobbi Kristina has dismissed reports suggesting the teenager is engaged to her “adopted brother.”

Family sources have been releasing statements to the media about the teen’s alleged romance with Nick Gordon, who Houston informally adopted when he was 12, with some insiders suggesting the two are planning to wed.

But, despite recent photos and video footage that show Gordon and Bobbi Kristina holding hands and kissing, a rep for the teenager insists there are no marriage plans.

The spokesperson tells UsMagazine.com, “Bobbi Kristina is not engaged. It is not true.”

Another source tells the website that the ring Bobbi Kristina has started wearing on her wedding finger belonged to her late mother – and is not a gift from Gordon.

Rumors have swirled since Houston’s death that her 19-year-old daughter is romancing Gordon, 22, and a British newspaper even alleged they are engaged after Bobbi Kristina was spotted sporting a diamond ring.

But Gordon, who was taken in by Houston at the age of 10 because his mother was struggling to raise him, has now spoken out in a bid to silence the gossip.

He admits they have become closer since Houston was found dead in her hotel suite in Los Angeles last month, but he is adamant he is merely providing her a shoulder to cry on.

Gordon tells ABCNews.com, “We’re just close – just going through her mom’s passing.”

Whitney Houston’s spirit is all around the house she called home a month after her death in Los Angeles, according to her daughter Bobbi Kristina.

The teenager has continued to live at the Georgia mansion she shared with her mother and she admits it is a very comforting place as she feels the singer’s presence everywhere.

Bobbie Kristina admits she could not bear to stay there the first night she returned to Atlanta after the events of February 11, but then she felt her mother calling her home.

In an exclusive TV interview with family friend Oprah Winfrey, which aired on Sunday, the teen said, “She’s always with me… I can always feel her with me. She always asked me… ‘Do you need me?’ And I caught myself one day, out of nowhere, I didn’t even know I said it, but… I said, ‘I always need you’.

“Her spirit is strong… I feel her pass through me all the time… Lights turn on and off and I’m like, ‘Mom, what are you doing?’ I can still sit there and I can still laugh with her… I can still talk to her.

“I still have all her clothes, every thing that she has ever given me.”

Bobbi Kristina also reveals her mom’s presence provides her with an early morning wake-up: “She always said, ‘At five o’clock in the morning the saints wake up and they start praying’… I’ve woken up at five… and I look at the clock… and I just start praying… and I get humble.”

Whitney Houston’s sister-in-law and longtime confidante has defended the singer’s ex-husband Bobby Brown, insisting he wasn’t the one who introduced her to drugs and sent the tragic superstar’s life …

Whitney Houston’s sister-in-law and longtime confidante has defended the singer’s ex-husband Bobby Brown, insisting he wasn’t the one who introduced her to drugs and sent the tragic superstar’s life spiraling out of control.

Patricia Houston, who was the star’s former manager, admits Brown has received a lot of bad press he didn’t deserve over the years from fans and critics who felt sure he was the man behind Houston’s fall from grace, which many believe ended with her death in Los Angeles last month.

In an exclusive TV interview with Oprah Winfrey, which will air on Sunday, Patricia Houston says, “I can’t say that he introduced drugs to her; I don’t think that’s true. Bobby and I had a good relationship. She (Whitney) would say, ‘You’re always trying to protect him.’ I said, ‘No, I’m protecting truth… I can’t do it any other way.'”

And Patricia Houston admits the couple’s marriage was doomed from the start – because there were so many outside pressures placed on them.

She adds, “There was always so much outside interference… It was very hard. Their reality was everyone else’s, and it’s very difficult if you’ve got family members that are demanding certain things from you, then the world demanding certain things from you. In all of that congestion, how can you make it work?”